


Gust of the Heart - Extra Scenes

by AthenaGC94



Series: Gust of the Heart [2]
Category: My Time At Portia (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Sam is a Little Shit, Sinful Thoughts, Sparring
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:21:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27437263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AthenaGC94/pseuds/AthenaGC94
Summary: This is some deleted scenes from my other MTAP piece Gust of the Heart. These will be scenes either written from my builder Piper's POV (because the story was originally written in hers and not Gust's) or scenes that I felt didn't fit anymore, but I still wanted to show you guys, because they're still fun.They'll bounce around the timeline of the story a bit - just as I clean and polish them up, so don't expect a rhyme or reason. They're more like one-shots now :)
Relationships: Builder/Gust (My Time At Portia)
Series: Gust of the Heart [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2004490
Comments: 1
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoy this series of one-shots with Gust and my builder Piper. You can read the full story here on AO3 - Gust of the Heart. For more content on them, check me out on tumblr: robingoodfellow94.tumblr.com

Piper straightened in her seat as a familiar head of blonde hair crested the ramp leading up to the top tier of town. Gust wore a pensive expression. One of her favorites. His lower lip jutted out in a small pout and his head lolled off to one side. She cradled her cheek in the palm of her hand and sighed. “Why does he have to be so pretty?”

Sam rolled her eyes and picked at the dirt under her nails with the tip of her knife. “Gross.”

She elbowed her in the side. “Shut up, I endured while you pined after Phyllis for months. You get to suffer with me now.”

“I didn’t _pine_.”

She ignored her and turned back to Gust. “Hey!” He paused and glanced around curiously. She smiled and leaned a little farther over the edge. “We’re up here.” He glanced up and his expression fell as she waved at him. “Hey there!”

Gust stopped just under the awning of the Civil Corps building, his brow pitched in mild concern as he peered between the two of them seated atop it. “Piper,” he greeted with a slight nod, “ _Samantha_.” Sam casually flipped him off and turned her attention back to her nails. “What in the world are you two doing up there?”

“It’s called having fun,” Sam drawled, “have you heard of it?”

Piper snorted and swung her legs over the side of the awning. “The view from up here is almost as good as the view from the church of Light,” she said with a teasing wink, “you should consider climbing up here to paint sometime. The sunsets are beautiful.”

Gust scoffed and crossed his arms. “That sounds cumbersome and dangerous.”

“Don’t tell me you’ve never climbed somewhere dangerous to find the perfect landscape setting?” A blush blossomed across his cheeks and that was all the answer she needed. She really wanted to hear _that_ story, but she’d pry it from him later ー when it was just the two of them. His stories were always more genuine that way. Her grin turned feline as she kicked her legs thoughtfully. “Why don’t you climb up here and join us?”

“Why don’t you climb _down_ here and join me?” he countered with a huff, “if you fall and sprain your ankle again, it would have been your own fault and I refuse to help you at the workshop this time.” 

He held out his arms towards her and Piper blinked down at him in surprise. Was he offering to catch her? That sounded like a terrible idea. They’d both end up at the clinic with sprained ankles if she jumped. She shook her head at him and he rolled his eyes.

“Just come down, you’re probably giving Xu a heart attack.”

Piper chuckled and glanced over at the clinic across the way. She didn’t doubt that. Xu always looked concerned whenever he saw them hanging out on the roof of the Civil Corp building. She only felt slightly bad for making him worry. “Alright, alright, I’ll come down.” she said as she shimmied down the drainpipe bolted to the wall. When her feet were safely on the ground, she turned to Gust and beamed. 

“Happy?”

“Very.” And he did look happier. The tension in his shoulders seemed a little less and he almost smiled, though it looked more like a pained grimace. He let his arms fall back to his side and sniffed. “Do you scale buildings often?”

“Do you judge people for scaling buildings often?”

He picked an invisible fleck of dust off the front of his coat. “I do when I don’t want to see them hurt.” Piper tried and failed to hide her surprise. He said it so casually, like he didn’t just admit that he didn’t want her hurt. That he cared about her safety. She tried to ignore what that did to her heart. 

Tried and failed.

She pressed her palm flat against her chest and willed it to stop hammering so loud, but it refused to listen. Fuck. “So,” she said as she took a tentative step closer. He made no move to step away and she tried not to read too much into it. But again, she failed miserably. Light, this whole crush thing was annoying. “What brings you to the top tier of town?”

Gust nodded towards the clinic. “I have to pick up some medicine for Ginger,” he said simply, “but I didn’t expect to run into two daredevils on my way up here.”

“Are you heading home after that?” she asked with a slight tilt of her head, “I was going to drop off Ginger’s birthday present this evening, but I can just head back with you when you’re done at the clinic.”

“But Pipes,” Sam peered over the edge of the awning and pouted, “it’s Tuesday.”

Gust arched an eyebrow up at her. “So?”

“Sam and I spar on Tuesdays, remember?” She held up her fists and jabbed at the air between them a couple of times. “To keep me sane and blow off a little steam. How else am I supposed to stay a level-headed ray of sunshine all the time?” Sam snorted and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like bullshit. Piper shot a glare over her shoulder.

“And it also keeps me in shape. I can’t afford to get soft when I’m constantly being thrown in dangerous situations.” She laughed, but it quickly died when she noticed the frown toying on his lips. He traced where the cut along her hairline had been a few weeks prior with his finger and almost trailed down to where her lip had been split, but hesitated. She suppressed the shudder that tingled at the base of her spine and pulled away. “Don’t worry. I can handle myself.”

Gust wrinkled his nose and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I-I wasn’t worried.”

She had never seen someone lie so blatantly through their teeth before.

“Good, because she’s super capable.” Sam swung her legs over the awning and jumped. She landed heavily on the ground a few short paces away and Piper’s ankles ached for her. She approached the pair and draped an arm around Gust’s shoulders. He sneered and tried to wriggle out of her grasp, but Sam held firm. “Care for a personal demonstration?”

He blinked. “What?”

“ _What?_ ” 

Piper glared pointedly at Sam, but she was already dragging a reluctant Gust towards the Civil Corps building. “I’ve heard through the grapevine that you’ll throw down your sister at the drop of a hat,” Sam continued with a sing-songy tone, “let’s see what you got to offer, pretty boy.”

She hurried after them. What was Sam thinking? She couldn’t spar against Gust. She’d snap him like a twig. Sure, she had a few sinful scenarios that sometimes wormed their way into her head where the idea of absolutely breaking him sounded divine, but those involved a lot less clothing and hardly any punching. She had to put a stop to this.

“I’m not going to spar with Piper.”

Piper paused just inside the doors. Gust looked positively harried as he glared down at Sam, who looked so damn proud of herself. “Why?” Her grip tightened around his shoulders. “Are you afraid she’s going to kick your ass? Because she will… kick your ass, I mean.”

Light, she wanted to throttle Sam.

“No,” he said with an indignant huff, “it’s just…” 

He trailed off and glanced back at Piper. A silent plea simmered in his eye ー begging her to intervene, but Piper stared back helplessly. Two parts of her brain were currently at odds. One the one hand, getting Gust pinned to the ground and staring longingly into those soft green eyes of his sounded delightful. But on the other hand, Gust wasn’t a skilled fighter and she’d probably hurt him.

Difficult choices.

“She’s wearing a skirt.”

Piper blinked at him, then down at the flowy skirt she’d thrown over her leggings, then back at him. “That’s never stopped me before,” she deadpanned, “I wear this into the Collapsed Wastelands all the time. Is that really the best excuse you could come up with?”

“Well, you’re being absolutely no help.”

“You thought a skirt would stop me from sparring?”

“It’s the first thing that came to mind, okay?” His blush bled into his ears, turning them beet red. "Leave me alone."

Piper rolled her eyes and took him gently by the arm. Sam let go and stepped back against the wall, still looking entirely too entertained by this. She shot her a dirty look as she led Gust towards the sparring ring. “Let’s just humor her,” she hissed under her breath, “it won’t take too long. I’ll have you pinned to the ground in no time and we can move on.”

“Confident, aren’t we?”

Piper started and glanced up at him. A teasing smile played on his lips. She narrowed her eyes at him, but he maintained that smug look. Something inside her flared. The part of herself that thrived on the adrenaline that came with a good fight. Did he really think he was a match against her? Her uncle had her start boxing the moment she could swing a fist. She won competitions back in Barnarock, even a few in Atara while she studied there for a time. He had no idea what kind of trouble he was getting himself into.

“Yeah, actually, I am,” she said with a matching smile, “and I’ll show you why.”

She shrugged her coat off her shoulders and tossed it to the side. Sam whopped loudly and pumped at the air. “Oh yeah, she’s taking off the coat,” she cheered, “you’re in trouble now.”

Gust rolled his eyes and shrugged off his own jacket. He wore a lovely coral sweater underneath. It was a shame she was going to wipe the floor with it when she tackled him to the ground. Piper cracked her knuckles and raised her fists in front of herself. Gust did the same and the look of stubborn determination on his face was almost endearing. This would certainly knock him down a peg or two.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked with an innocent tilt of her head.

“I’ll go easy on you.”

Her smile turned saccharine. “I won’t.”

Piper lunged forward with a left hook. Gust sidestepped to swivel out of the way, but he was too slow. She clipped his shoulder with the edge of her fist. He grunted in surprise and staggered back, grasping his shoulder with a look of mild surprise. “You actually _hit_ me?”

She arched an eyebrow at him. “Yeah, welcome to the sparring ring, that’s kind of the point.” She lunged forward with another swing that Gust managed to narrowly avoid. “Don’t worry, I won’t bruise that pretty face of yours.” She winked and threw another punch. This one connected with his forearm.

She could faintly hear Sam narrating her moves on the sidelines, but it sounded distant. Her blood rushed around her ears as the thrill of a fight coursed through her veins. She didn’t even have to think. Her body just moved. Jab. Jab. Uppercut. Right hook. It all came naturally after years of rigorous training. She consciously pulled the punches, but they still had a bit of power behind them.

They skirted around each other, much like a dance. A dance that Piper was leading and Gust didn’t know the steps to. He stumbled over himself in a desperate attempt to stay out of range of her swings. Several emotions played on his face, shuffling back and forth like a deck of cards. Panic, fear, admiration, and something she couldn’t quite place. Something that left his cheeks flushed and his eyes heavily lidded as he danced around her. Something that looked a lot like… arousal?

It stirred the monster called desire that she kept tucked away deep in the pit of her stomach. It awoke, snarling and begging that she let him make the face while he loomed over her in the privacy of her home. Preferably splayed out on her rickety kitchen table amidst the remnants of one of their meals. Where his fingers would dance along her sides as he peppered her body with kisses until he reached...

Wait. No. What? 

She clamped down on the primal beast and shoved it down and out of sight. She faltered and swung a little too wide, just narrowly missing Gust’s face. The cut of air rustled the curls around his shoulders and he balked at her. 

“You said you’d avoid the face?”

“Sorry.” Her voice crackled and popped like flames on a fire. Fuck. She needed to end this.

She shifted her weight forward to go for another hit, but feinted at the last moment. She swiped at his feet with her leg and Gust went crashing to the ground. She scrambled on top of him and pinned his arms over his head, chest heaving. He stared up at her, wearing that same flushed look that got her in trouble in the first place. His hair fanned out around his head like a halo of light one would only see in ancient pieces of relic art.

Light, it wasn’t fair how pretty he was.

Her grip tightened around his wrists and around the neck of the beast that clawed desperately in her gut. “Told you it wouldn’t take long.”

“You’re better than I anticipated,” he conceded, “I shouldn’t have doubted you.”

“Well, now you’ll think twice before you doubt me again.” she said with another wink, “I told you I can handle myself. There’s no need to worry.”

His expression softened and he smiled. “I can see that now.” He wriggled a little underneath of her and she bit back the whimper that threatened to bubble up in her throat. She released her grip on him and slipped off his lap. He sat up and massaged the skin on his wrist. “But that doesn’t mean I won’t worry.” It sounded so genuine and soft. It never used to be that way with him, but now… 

She wasn’t sure when things had changed between them. Was it the time they spent together while she was hurt? Or maybe the fact that she wanted to help him get those flowers for his mother’s grave? Regardless, she liked this development. It gave her hope that maybe…

“That was so entertaining,” Sam exclaimed as she plopped down between them, “thank you for that. Truly, I needed something to make me laugh today.” Gust and Piper exchanged wary looks before turning to glare at her. She threw up her hands defensively. “What?”

Piper ignored her and pushed herself off the ground. She would have a long chat with Sam later, probably using their fists. But for now, she needed to get Gust out of here before Sam pulled him into anymore shenanigans. “I’ll go with you to the clinic,” she said as she offered Gust a hand, “then we can head back to your place so I can give Ginger her present.”

Gust smiled and took her hand. She hoisted him to his feet and held onto her hand a few seconds longer than he needed to. She tried not to think about it and she masked her disappointment when he did let go. “Then let’s get going, being around Sam nauseates me.”

“Yeah, she has that effect on people.”

Sam flipped them off and they returned it without missing a beat. She waved to Sam and, together, she and Gust left the Civil Corps. As they walked, she tried not to think about how close they were, or how often their shoulders brushed against each other, or how he smelled like apricots and fresh paper.

Light, she was in deep.


	2. Portia Customs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Piper wakes up from a night of drinking with friends to an unexpected and mildly confusing item in her mailbox.

Piper groaned and massaged her temples as she made her way back towards her workshop. That workshop inspection was particularly tedious and she _definitely_ regretted last night ー in so many ways. She never drank that much and now she remembered why. The pounding in her head refused to go away no matter how much water she drank and the sun burned a little too bright for her liking. She blamed Sam and her need to make everything a competition. 

How was she supposed to do her job while the world spun around her like a merry-go-round? 

She noted the flag standing upright on her mailbox as she approached and fought the urge to cringe. She hoped it wasn’t all commission requests, otherwise she might curl up right there and cry. Her list of outstanding commissions was already so long. How was she supposed to keep up with the demand. She flipped open the lid of the box and pulled out the stack of mail inside. Her heart sank as she shuffled through the various envelopes. 

A message from the research center ー Petra finally found something in the stack of data discs she submitted earlier that week. Perfect. Hopefully it would be something useful. If she had to keep using her rudimentary skiver that broke every other day, she was going to scream. Another message from Carol ー she was asking for an update on her broken sewing machine. That was top of her list, right there. Not the whole issue with this mysterious Rogue Knight and his hidden agenda. She was definitely more concerned about Carol and her _fucking_ sewing machine. Albert and the Mayor had a few commission requests for her. Nothing dire, just busy work from the looks of it, but she often wondered if they were just throwing things at her for the sake of keeping her out of their hair.

The last envelope in the stack was larger than the others and pale blue in color. She flipped it over in her hands and felt the contents shift inside. She furrowed her brow. Strange, she didn’t remember ordering anything and she had no outstanding requests with the Civil Corps. 

She ripped it open and peered inside. 

A bracelet of intricately woven string sat at the bottom of the envelope. She pulled it out and regarded it with a curious tilt of her head. It was fashioned in the shape of a heart, red and adorned with tiny gold beads. She knew Alice sold these at her shop, but she never bothered to ask what they were for. She just assumed they were just another trinket she sold to scrounge up a few extra gols. Who would bother to get her something silly like this?

She stuffed the knotted heart into her pocket and fished out the note that accompanied the charm.

_Piper -_  
_You should finish your work early and meet me at the Church of Light after sunset this evening. There’s something I’d like to discuss with you._  
_-Gust_

Her heart skipped a beat. She recalled the previous night. She tested the waters with that skirt that she borrowed it from Sonia. She just wanted to see if he'd notice something as trivial as a shorter skirt. And he definitely noticed. His eyes traced the curve of her ass anytime he thought she wasn’t looking, but she was always looking. That had to mean something. Then when they piled into the booth at the Round Table, Gust’s thigh pressed flat against her despite having plenty of room to spread out. Another sign that it wasn’t just her, right?

So, she went for it and brought up the brooch when they made it back to the workshop that evening.

It had been one of those rare moments of vulnerability with him. She knocked down a few more of those rough steel walls that kept everyone at bay and he felt comfortable opening up to her. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to open up in kind. She traced the curve of her jaw, where his fingers had left a burning trail the night prior. The area where his lips had brushed her forehead still buzzed with an electric energy. It was so soft, she doubted he'd done it at all, but she _swore_ he did. She practically confessed to having a crush on him, but he didn’t say anything about it. Or had he? The charm in her pocket grew heavier the longer she considered it. Wait. Was he trying to…?

She stuffed the envelopes back into her mailbox and headed straight back to town. She needed answers and she needed them now.

♢♢♢♢♢♢♢

Piper stormed through the doors of the Civil Corps building and threw the heart knot onto the table in front of Sam and her breakfast. She peered between it and her, unimpressed, then returned to shoveling eggs into her mouth. “I’m flattered,” she mumbled as she shoved another spoonful into her mouth, “but Phyllis is way prettier than you and she’s going to be a doctor. You don’t even hold a candle.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Gee, thanks for that vote of confidence. But it’s not for you. I found this in my mailbox this morning,” she said with a nod towards the charm, “along with a note from Gust asking me to meet him at the Church of Light this evening.”

Sam choked on her next bite. She doubled over in her seat, red in the face and struggling to catch her breath. “You,” she heaved a deep breath and pointed to the knot, “you said you got that from _Gust_?”

“Yeah?” she said slowly, “so I’m guessing this stupid trinket means something then?”

“Oh shit.” Sam hissed and pushed her plate aside, “That’s right, you wouldn’t understand what this means, would you?” Piper tried to ignore the panic churning in her stomach. She had an idea what it meant. It was a heart-shaped bracelet for Light’s sake. How could she not have a guess? But she wanted to know for sure. Before she did something she might regret later.

Sam swallowed hard. “The heart knot is used in Portia to express their feelings for someone,” she explained with a swipe of her hand, “Gust just admitted he had feelings for you.”

Piper closed her eyes and took a deep, slow breath. Fuck. “Through a letter?”

“Through a fucking letter.” The chair creaked as Sam settled back in her seat. “I knew the guy was hopeless, but I didn’t know he was this bad at talking about his feelings.” She drummed her fingers thoughtfully along the table as she considered something. “Maybe he didn’t want to chicken out at the church tonight?” she offered after a moment, “you can’t really take back a heart knot once it's given?”

Piper sank into the chair opposite her. Her mind raced faster than a long range bus. She combed her fingers through her hair and tugged until tears formed at the corner of her eyes. There were _customs_ when it came to this shit in Portia? How was she supposed to know that? She never really showed an interest in anyone in town and no one said anything to her before now. Did she have to give him a heart knot in return? Would it be rude if she didn’t? Fuck.

She slammed her hands flat on the table and said, “I need to go.”

Sam straightened in her seat as Piper stood and made a beeline for the door. “Do you want me to talk to him for you?” She cracked her knuckles to emphasize her point. “I can teach that pretty boy a lesson. The lecture from Arlo will be worth it.”

“ _No._ ” She took another slow breath to calm her fraying nerves. She had so much to do before sunset. Did Carol sell blue string? She had never tied knots before. Light, this was going to be a mess. Gust was going to hate it. “No,” she said again a little more firmly, “it’s fine. I’m fine. We’re fine. I’ll talk to him later at the church. Don’t do anything to him.”

“Butー”

“I’ve got it handled, just…” She trailed off and sifted through the contents of her messenger bag. Maybe she should just buy a knot from Alice? Her expression hardened. No. She didn’t want rumors to start flying, because rumors would start flying if she bought something like that in the middle of town. The citizens of Portia didn’t know how to keep their noses out of other people’s business. She’d just make one of these stupid knots herself.

“Just let it be,” she snapped as she shoved through the doors of the Civil Corps, “Everything will be fine.” 

Or at least, that’s what she hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Piper, despite her love of Portia, has no idea how customs work in the town she's lived in for over two years. Oops. Hope you enjoyed. I appreciate all of you!


End file.
